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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28911219">Would You Tell Me Who You Are?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackCanary0001/pseuds/BlackCanary0001'>BlackCanary0001</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Batman one shots [17]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batgirl (Comics), Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Barbara Gordon in a Wheelchair, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Canon Timeline, Fluff, Gordon is a sharp cookie, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Torture, Jim Gordon Knows, Past Torture, So many robins!, Traumatized Jason Todd, barbara tells gordon about the past of everyone</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 11:34:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,024</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28911219</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackCanary0001/pseuds/BlackCanary0001</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"It had taken the commissioner too long to figure it out, but in the end, he couldn't say he was surprised his bad-ass daughter would do something like vigilantism."</p><p>Or, Gordon knows Babs used to be Batgirl and asks all kinds of questions</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Barbara Gordon &amp; Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon &amp; Damian Wayne, Barbara Gordon &amp; Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon &amp; Everyone, Barbara Gordon &amp; Jason Todd, Barbara Gordon &amp; Jim Gordon, Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain &amp; Barbara Gordon, Stephanie Brown &amp; Barbara Gordon, Stephanie Brown &amp; Cassandra Cain &amp; Tim Drake &amp; Barbara Gordon &amp; Dick Grayson &amp; Jason T. &amp; Damian W., Tim Drake &amp; Barbara Gordon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Batman one shots [17]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1905481</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>57</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Would You Tell Me Who You Are?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I just want to know more about them," Gordon assured his daughter, saying that he didn't want to know their secret identities and that he was not angry with Barb for keeping her identity a secret. It had taken the commissioner too long to figure it out, but in the end, he couldn't say he was surprised his bad-ass daughter would do something like vigilantism.</p><p>"But that doesn't mean I agree with you risking your life and going out night after night," he growled and Babs sighed. "I'm sorry, I should have told you. But-" she said, eager to change the topic, "I can tell you about the others."<br/>
He nodded, taking her hand in his. "Why don't you start with the Robins. Seriously, how many are there, I've lost count."<br/>
"Uh, five. Four boys and-"<br/>
"One girl, yeah, that was hard to miss."<br/>
Barbara smiled. "Yeah, she's awesome. But she wasn't the first Robin."</p><p>She pondered how to explain things without revealing too much information. Bruce Wayne was well known and she had to be very careful not to accidentally blab out important secrets. Barbara was surprised her father hadn't scolded her more, but he was probably sensing her distress about him finding out and was only postponing it. She was so grounded. But talking about the batfam actually kinda calmed her down, even though it was pretty exciting. She'd always wanted to tell her dad, but she knew he'd just worry and try do convince her not to be Batgirl anymore, which was something she just couldn't do at the time. Well, it didn't matter now anyway. She wasn't Batgirl anymore.</p><p>She looked at her dad with a serious expression. "You can't tell anyone what I'm telling you," she warned, "it would put them, me, and you in grave danger."<br/>
He nodded in understanding and Babs continued, "After a few years of being Batman's sidekick, the first Robin was... well, I guess you could say Batman fired him..."<br/>
Gordon looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Why would he do that?"<br/>
"Because he can be an asshole. And because Robin was shot. Usually, he'd just bench him after major injuries, but Batman has this problem with guns, not to mention that they had been at each other's throats for weeks now, and..." She sighed, "anyways, Robin didn't take it well and left."</p><p>Gordon considered her words for a moment before nodding. Of course he'd noticed the absence of Gotham's bird and that Batman seemed more violent than usual around that time. He just hadn't known why. His guess had been that Robin was injured or worse.</p><p>"And the second Robin?"<br/>
He frowned as his daughter grimaced. "Uh... that's a complicated story. He and Batman met through accident." She smiled slightly. "It's a funny story, actually." Shaking her head, she continued. "But he was... violent. He didn't have the agility of the first Robin and made rash decisions, going in blindly and thinking with his fists. And then..." He could tell she was uncomfortable talking about this and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "You don't have to talk if you don't want to."<br/>
"No, it's just..." She sighed again. "As the Police Commissioner, you must have heard rumours about his disappearance."</p><p>Yes, he had heard rumours, mostly gloating from the thugs he'd arrested. And even though he didn't want to believe them, the spiral of violence Batman had been falling into told him that it was true, that Robin was dead. And the other vigilante, the guy from Blüdhaven, had come over too, fighting more viciously than before.</p><p>"They said he was killed. 'Blown to bits by the clown after he beat the crap out of him with a fucking crowbar'," he quoted one of the men he'd heard talking about the young hero's fate.<br/>
The tears in Barbara's eyes proved him right. "Oh my God," he muttered, covering his mouth with his hand in shock. He knew that the clown was deranged and had a sick obsession with Batman and Robin, but that he'd actually... <br/>
"What happened?" he whispered, wiping at his eyes.</p><p>"Joker lured him into a trap," she spat, anger radiating off of her in waves. "Batman was too late. He didn't take it well, not even Nightwing or Agent A could make him feel less guilty."<br/>
"Agent A?" he asked, "Nightwing?"<br/>
"Oh, right. Agent A is probably the person Batman trusts most and Nightwing is the first Robin. After leaving Gotham, he decided to be a hero out of Batman's shadow."<br/>
"Oh."<br/>
"Yeah.</p><p>She sighed. "And then Robin came back to life- don't look at me like that, yes, it is possible, no, I'm not gonna explain how, no, not because it's a secret, it's just too complicated and I don't really know how it works myself. Anyways, the way he was resurrected; it messed with his head and he want... crazy, I guess you could call it. You know how the Joker used to be Red Hood before becoming the Joker?"<br/>
Gordon nodded.<br/>
"Well, having this vendetta against Joker, Robin took on his old persona and became Red Hood. After finding out that the clown was still alive, he started hunting down Batman, thinking he hadn't avenged his death."</p><p>Barbara stilled for a second. "You know, even though he went on a killing spree and killed a lot of people, I still pity him, I still feel sorry for the boy we lost. I mean, none of what happened before and during the Joker was his fault and after... he was lost and had no one to help him. It's no excuse, but it's an explanation. After some time, he eventually opened up about what the Joker had done to him... shooting me was nothing in comparison. Just imagine it, you're fifteen and alone and scared and betrayed by a person you love and then there is this dangerous villain that laughs at your fear, that baths in it. Hood told us about the way he felt when the crowbar smashed bones and muscle..." She shuddered. "We just wanted to help, so we got him drunk and he finally talked, just that we realized we didn't want to hear it. To hear how the Joker giggled as he crushed his ribs, to listen to him talking about metal slamming into his head. So yes, I feel sorry for him, especially since what happened afterwards was out of his control. He wasn't in his right state of mind and to be honest, I want revenge on the Joker too, for what he did to me. Just imagine what he must feel like after being tortured by the psychopath's hand and then being left with a ticking bomb...</p><p>"He told us how he was hoping Batman would come, how he <em>trusted</em>him to safe him... But he didn't come. Instead, his skin was burned off his flesh and his flesh off his bones and he told us that it <em>hurt</em><em>. </em>That he wanted to scream, but there was smoke in his lungs, that he wanted to cry, but his eyes had burned out." She swallowed thickly and brushed away tears.</p><p>Gordon could feel his own tears roll down his cheeks. Yes, he had always resented Red Hood, of course he had, but he'd never stopped to think about how the man had become Red Hood, to think about the red Bat-symbol on his chest. <br/>
"That poor boy," he whispered and shuddered. He couldn't imagine the pain the boy must have been feeling, the emotional and physical anguish. <br/>
"But... what happened afterwards?"</p><p>"The third Robin came. He was... different. He's probably the smartest person I've ever met. He saw how Batman was falling deeper and deeper into this spiral of violence and he just wanted to help. So he figured out his identity."<br/>
Gordon took a moment to realize what his daughter just revealed. "What?! A <em>boy </em>figured out the secret trained police officers and detectives couldn't solve?"<br/>
He shook his head. "Impressive."<br/>
"He went to Batman and asked him to make him the new Robin, because Batman needs a Robin, and at first, B declined, but 'Wing and Agent A convinced him to agree, so the boy became Robin. But I think he never really felt like Robin. I've known Batman long enough to know that he is not the best when it comes to talking and bonding. I think he made Robin feel like he was never good enough, not Robin-enough. I've seen him struggle to appease B."</p><p>She sighed. "But Hood didn't make it easy for him either. Once he figured out that Batman had replaced him, he went after Robin."<br/>
"But that's just an innocent boy!"<br/>
"I know, dad. But Hood didn't and there were some really bloody fights. And all Robin wanted was to be like his predecessor, just that he now tried to kill him." She shook her head sadly.<br/>
"But we're all on good terms now."</p><p>"And the next Robin?"<br/>
"Right, that would be the female Robin. First, she was active as Spoiler- and she and Robin were a couple and I ship them, even though they broke up again. Well, Spoiler became Robin after the other Robin- this is confusing- stepped down because of... personal business. But she was just as thick-headed as Batman and he fired her." She snickered quietly and Gordon raised his eyebrows. "Something tells me you two have a connection."<br/>
She nodded, a warm smile playing on her lips. <br/>
"I'll get to that later. She screwed up again and got hurt, but everything turned out well in the end.</p><p>"Then there is the current Robin. He's... another complicated case. He was raised by assassins and is probably the most skilled Robin of all of them at his age. But Robin always had trouble socializing- which really isn't all that surprising with who his parents are. He didn't like being touched and saw everyone as a danger to his position as Robin."</p><p>Suddenly, a small smile gazed her lips. "But Nightwing and he had some... bonding time? Well, they worked together for a long amount of time and he finally managed to knock Robin's walls down. I think that Nightwing is the only person Robin really loves (aside from his pets)."<br/>
Gordon groaned. This was way too much for one afternoon. <br/>
"And you and this female Robin? What's the story behind that?"</p><p>"Well, you know who Black Bat is?"<br/>
"The ninja vigilante that scares the crap out of my men and saved my life?"<br/>
She nodded her head. "She was, like Robin, raised and trained to kill, but she realized that it was wrong and ran from her parents. She came to Gotham and saved your life after meeting one of my... agents. With my and Batman's approval, she became the second Batgirl.<br/>
But after a not so pleasant event, she went to Hong Kong to become Black Bat." <br/>
Babs smiled sadly. "I adopted her, at least in my heart. She's a good girl and tries her best."</p><p>Gordon felt pride swell up inside of him and ruffled his daughter's hair. Grinning, she continued her story. "After she stepped down as Batgirl, I started training the she-Robin and she became the next Batgirl. That's my connection to her."<br/>
He was quiet for a few moments, trying to make sense of everything he'd just heard. <br/>
The batfam was more complicated than he'd thought.</p><p>"How would you describe each of them?" he finally asked, looking at his daughter's startling eyes. <br/>
"Nightwing is the annoying one. You have no idea how often we had to rescue him, just because he couldn't bear to see someone else get hurt. We don't call kidnappings Code Red anymore, we call them Code Nightwing. His overprotectiveness is annoying but sweet. <br/>
Red Hood is down right rude, loves his guns and likes to shoot at his annoying brothers. Red Robin is the most intelligent person I've ever met and Robin is an annoying, little, spoilt assassin brat. Spoiler's awesome and Black Bat is awesome but scary as sh*t. And Batman is moody."<br/>
Gordon snort. "Yeah, that sounds about right." </p><p> </p>
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